State Ownership in Cyberia
__NOEDITSECTION__ In the Antarctic State, there exists a larger presence of state ownership, otherwise known as government-owned services (GOS), or state-owned enterprises (SOE), in select areas than most other countries. These areas are controlled wholly or in part by the Unitary Government of Cyberia This is in contrast to privatization, where certain services are available for the civil sector to sort out amongst itself, without major government intervention. In Cyberia, the level of state ownership can be categorized into three levels; the first of which being state monopolies, second being near-monopolies, and third being state competition in a commercial market. Monopolies State monopolies are industries, assets, and/or enterprises that are wholly or nearly wholly owned by the Antarctic State government. Resource Mining The Cyberian government forwardly owns and operates all mining operations within the country. Indeed, in the eyes of the state, it is seen as thievery for any entity to mine resources in the country outside of official government business. This means that it is effectively considered a corporate crime, or otherwise an organized crime, to set up a mining operation without it in part or in whole being owned by the AS government. Raw and processed resources are available for purchase directly from the government, only in very large bulk quantities. Electrical Grid A negligible portion of the electrical grid is supplied by non-government units, such as homeowners or otherwise buildings that install their own energy sources, whilst still being connected to the grid. The extreme vast majority of the grid is built, generated, and supported by the Cyberian government, specifically the Department of Energy. It is not considered safe, not to mention legal, for a non-government entity to perform work on the existing grid, nor build its own generation, transmission or distribution stations that are connected to the AS government's grid. Grid defection, commonly known as "going off-the-grid", is neither encouraged nor illegal. Water Industry The Cyberian water industry, including the supply of drinking water, the receiving and treatment of wastewater, the infrastructure that transports these, and all other facets, is controlled and maintained solely by the AS government. It is illegal for individuals and/or companies to tamper with the water supply in any way without government guidance. Near-Monopolies Near-monopolies of the state are seen in aspects of society where it is not prohibited yet it is difficult or heavily regulated for non-government entities commercializing said aspects. Policing :See Also: Public Security, Riot Control, Security Forces It is not strictly illegal for private security companies to form, such as private military companies or contractors (PMCs), private investigators (PIs), security guards, or other protection agencies. However these companies, as all non-government organizations are, are completely barred from utilizing any of the Antarctic State's own policing tools, especially intelligence agencies like the Identification Bureau. Furthermore, companies identifying as PMCs are often scrutinized by the government much more often and to a finer degree than other companies. Fire Suppression Commonly known as the fire department, the operation of emergency fire suppression services is majorly managed by the Department of Civilian Affairs. It is not prohibited for stopgap firefighting measures to be put in place by private organizations in the event of an unwanted fire; however if a person or other party is harmed in the act of neglecting to notify government emergency services, a heavy fine may be imposed and possibly jail/prison time. Primary & Secondary Education Public education of minors in the Antarctic State is majority handled by the Department of Civilian Affairs. This holds true for primary (grades K-8), secondary (grades 9-12), and alternative military (grades 9-12) schools. It is not prohibited for education to be privatized, such is the common case in for-profit and non-profit colleges (which is technically ternary, or "higher" education). Lesser known are private primary and secondary schools as well. All schools operating within the country are subject to curriculum regulation to varying degrees, and requirements for a diploma or college degree are arguably more strictly regulated. Competition with the State In competition with the government, privatization of these aspects of life is not prohibited by government, rather the government is one of the competitors in it. Agriculture It is not prohibited for individuals nor companies to perform their own agriculture. However, due to the presence and prevalence of the ASC Department of Agriculture (ASDA) and its high-production growing facilities, it is commonly considered much simpler and easier to buy raw food resources from the ASDA, and then process them into commercially available food products. Some food-related companies do indeed take it upon themselves to build their own food supplies and manufacture packaged foods that way. Furthermore, food-related companies are subject to strict health and safety regulations under the ASDA. The ASDA itself competes in the food market by offering its continuously-manufactured surplus of ration-type products and MREs to the non-impoverished public for purchase. These rations and MREs can be bought directly from the government at nearly the absolute lowest prices, barring selling at a loss, provided one knows the avenues necessary to purchase them. Single ration packs are known to be much more expensive than they are if bought in bulk packs of 5, 10, 15, 20, or more, with each larger bulk pack being less in price per-item. Health Insurance Baseline health care, as opposed to more comprehensive health care, is provided to the general public; to those that opt not to pay into health insurance. This baseline health care is, in comparison to higher levels, quite barebones in its provisions, as it intended for use only as service to the impoverished. Military personnel that are actively serving the government of the Antarctic State are given health care by the military directly, and in most cases, without expense on the person's part. Veterans that separate from the military with an honorable discharge are eligible for government healthcare in military hospitals, which is generally regarded as much better than baseline healthcare but somewhat lacking in areas that private health insurance can provide. News Network The AS government operates its own news network on basic television. This is available completely free to the general public that can receive its broadcast. The Civil Cognizance Commission (CCC) as it is called, operates out of the Department of Justice, and reports on many things that other news stations likely do not have access to, or are not informed of in a timely manner. The CCC also has access to a plethora of other information that otherwise would not be obvious to the public or other stations, or inaccessible to them to begin with. Postal Service In the AS government, there exists a civilian post office separate from the military post office. It is operated by the Department of Civilian Affairs (DCA), and exists as a much upgraded and improved remnant of what started the postal service in Cyberia's formation. The DCA's civilian postal service operates at a competitive advantage to other parcel services, in that those non-government companies are not allowed access to residential mail boxes, and through the fact that civilian mail often rides alongside military mail in the same government air transports, which reduces costs while keeping up in speed. Category:Canon